Reviews

Ascension by Oliver Harris

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aij's review

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

First half very informative dumpy - too much research too heavily worn - and oddly clumsy prose. Second half picked up but then wrapped up rather than delving into the characters and conflicts it had just excitingly revealed.

peter_toms's review

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dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

sandra4475's review against another edition

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informative mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Meh

nicjohnston's review against another edition

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3.0

Elliot Kane, former intelligence agent, is trying to live a quiet life as an academic when he is sucked back into his former life to uncover what happened to an old colleague. Taking him to the island of Ascension, Elliott finds himself in a remote and hostile environment where the locals likely know more than they are letting on.

This was a book of two sections. The first 60% was impeccably paced and plotted. Building the tension and engaging the various strands. Then a switch was tripped and it all got a bit too convoluted, seat-of-your-pants and run of the mill thriller. The end reveal was no great surprise.

Enjoyable but far from memorable.